Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
by Heartless demon wolf
Summary: Coming back directly from Tokyo, the five legendary Teen Titans began to relax and unwind in their own town again but Robin and Starfire's relationship is not the happily ever after they expected and in time they find that perhaps they were not made for each other as they thought, while Starfire finds comfort in Beast Boy and questions her love for Robin, tearing her heart in two.
1. Temporary Break

**Author's Note: I know, I know. I'm awful for I already have two serious Teen Titans stories on here and a ton of one-shots I should be doing, but bare with me. If you can...naturally this is not edited. I seriously need an editor or beta reader you guys must be pissed not having these stories edited. At any rate, hope you all like this for once I'm going to do what I can on giving a realistic break up, love and comfort story, enjoy.**

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><p>"I just feel like you're smothering me, ever since we got back from Tokyo you been by my side nonstop. I need a break, I need time for us to adapt to our new relationship, I never been in one before...you understand that don't you Starfire?" Richard Grayson questioned to the woman before him.<p>

They stood in the Evidence Room alone, Robin leading on the side of the wall, one foot propped up against it, his arms crossed, his head down and his expression while disheartening also held nervousness and a small hint of worry that the Tamaeranean princess was able to catch only by knowing his posture and tone of voice for so long as the thin material that covered his eyes were for the very first time, removed and held tight in his left hand.

Ocean blue eyes that were staring towards the ground now darted towards the other occupant with him as he lifted his head, and she had to admit he was a very handsome young man, dedicated, strong willed, loyal, honest, brave and willing to give people who mattered to him a chance.

He blinked which forced her to snap out of her idol image of the teenager before her and see that though they had been through many events and cared for each other, even looking out for the other in combat they had never taken the time to get to know the person they had willingly committed themselves to in the act of courting.

Starfire looked down at her hands, her fingers nervously overlapping the other in the hopeless attempt to stop the emotions threatening to overwhelm her, she took a deep shaky breath and replied softly trying to hide the disappointment from her words.

"Of course, Robin, you're right. Perhaps we have rushed into this without much consideration for what will happen after we returned. I agree that maybe a...break is in order to collect our thoughts and feelings and find common ground." It pained her to say those words, as a being of empathy she was torn between trying to scrape the fairy tale ending she had read about in so many books and trying to remember what would come after such stories.

Robin nodded his head slowly, a small but warm smile on his face as he planted his foot on the ground and walked towards her, placing his green gloved hands on her bare shoulders and looking deep into her eyes which held the affection and care for her that he was beginning to show slowly in public.

"Hey, this doesn't mean we aren't together. We'll just give each other a bit of space for a while as we try to figure things out...alright?" His words were like a gentle, comforting blanket that wrapped around her making the alien give him a larger and more sincere smile before he reached up and kissed her on the lips, conveying all the bottle up feelings he felt at that moment in that one kiss which she eagerly returned and closed her eyes.

But while she could taste the hint of grapes he had this morning and knew for a fact this was only temporary, knowing that he made her laugh and enjoyed spending time with him while doing other activities she felt a shiver run down her spine, not from the passionate and slightly heated feel of his lips on her's but from her own lips on his and strangely she felt empty.

As though they had already lost the spark that made them so protective of each other, they had given their all in depending on the other, he had rescued her again and again, stopped a wedding from a creature she did not love or even know, confessed his fears and worries to her, even traveled across the void of space to find her after she had been forced to deal with puberty.

She had literally fought her own personal demons in an gamble to shield him from the forces that haunted them, kept his heart at bay while his was fading to darkness working with Slade in order to protect his friends who were like family and he even rejected her older and arguably more attractive sister who ruled their planet at one point just to be by her side when she needed it the most.

It should have been a very well deserved ending for the two of them after they had defeated Commander Diazo and had the enormous celebration in Tokyo that followed, the very fairy tale ending she had always dreamed of with the man she loved.

Or at least, the one she hesitated to herself to say she loved. Starfire didn't know why but there was a sudden pang of emptiness in her heart as Robin pulled away from their kiss for air.

He mumbled that he had to go to the city real quick after seeing a frown on her face and awkwardly said good bye before placing his mask back on with a small capsule of some form of glue which he had tucked into his utility belt that he spread over the edges and disappeared once the automatic door opened leaving her to her thoughts making her lift a hand towards her face and brushing two fingers to her lips she could not understand what exactly it was that made the kiss for her feel hollow.

With a loud sigh, Starfire walked towards the exit, opened the door and decided to go into the Ops room, hoping that a bottle of mustard might calm her nerves as she entered.

She expected to be alone but was surprised to find Beast Boy on the large U shaped couch lazily flipping through channels with the remote in his hand and a bored, somewhat sad expression on his face.

As she strolled to the refrigerator and upon opening it found her favorite beverage as well as a strew she fished out of the utensil drawer she could not help but feel disappointed at her friend's dejected state which made her close the large cooler and step lightly towards him.

"Friend Beast Boy?" She called out softly, not wanting to startle him and kept her voice neutral making the changeling look over his shoulder and give her a honest smile.

"Hey, Star. What's up, everything alright? " He answered back, finally turning off the t.v and tossing the remote beside him before he stretched his sore and tired muscles, unknowingly giving the alien a peek of his toned, sculpted muscles when his shirt accidentally lifted up making her immediately blush though she could not turn away until he had stopped at last and leaned back into the cushions.

Yawning, he asked her a question she did not even pay attention to, her inner thoughts waging war on how attractive the diminutive, viridian young man was before her with his pointy elf ears, forest green eyes and single canine fang that protruded out the left side of his mouth, his own eyes observed her confused and a bit worried.

"You alright there, Starfire?" He asked again making her body jolt just at the mere sound of her name coming from his lips, where were these sudden usually unknown details about the fifteenth year old superhero coming from?

He was her best friend, of the males that was, and it made her guilty that she even had these thoughts while she was still with Robin, she should have felt honored that he had removed his eye mask to her now after all the years they known each other.

And yet...after Cyborg and Raven criticized the mask Beast Boy used to wear they never saw it again. The emotions the young morpher went through were all laid out in front of whoever was in the vicinity around him, he wore his heart on his sleeve or better yet, through the humor uttered from his lips.

Unlike the Boy Wonder himself who always concealed his eyes from view of everyone no matter what they went through as a team, it seemed a bit selfish to her.

Starfire was forced to admit to her friend that she was fine as she looked away from his questioning eyes, though not judgmental it still felt like he wanted her to confide in him or if nothing else, to not be so obvious with her lie.

With a gentle response that she was going to sleep the princess of Tamaran turned away from the confused young man and ran to her bedroom, the unopened bottle of mustard forgotten in her haste.

Beast Boy knew that his friend was troubled by something, he would be lying if he said her demeanor did not seem worrisome but he had a feeling she just wished to be left alone for tonight, it was getting late and he was in no mood to watch any more television or play video games so he chose to retire for the night.

Standing up abruptly, he groaned feeling a wave of vertigo rush through him and leaned one hand on the couch for support, after it passed he stood tall and began his trek to his own bedroom, punching in the correct code the door opened to a shockingly clean area.

The blue curtains open to allow the descending rays of sun and air into it, the former bunk beds replaced with a single queen sized bed big enough for two and having a white comforter with large tiger stitched blanket neatly made, though he rarely had guest inside his room.

He had known that growing older meant he had to stop living like a pig, his brown dresser where he stored his civilian clothes having nothing on it but a framed picture of his home town in Africa and many other pictures from different events among being with the Teen Titans.

He had a large full length mirror on the right side of his silver metallic closest which held his cleaned uniforms complete with both regular shoes and what he had labeled mission shoes, a special box was stored on a top shelf he had gathered for personal items from both his parents, home town and the Doom Patrol but he rarely looked through it, not wanting to bring up painful memories or for the mask that held his usual mischievous face to crack, again.

Other than a medium sized entertainment shelf which held his black average, flat screen television set, his Gamestation, DVD player, two controllers and an impressive mix of both movies and video games plus the remote for the t.v. his room was practically not truly impressive, it was clean but...lonely.

It held certain faded and worn posters on a wall or two but it was an enormous step from a year ago, hell even a month ago once they had returned back from Tokyo.

Though his living space did little to faze him from the unsettling feeling that something was wrong with his friend, he could not shake it but did not wish to disturb her or press a matter that was none of his business.

Grumbling with a shake of his head and a snort, Beast Boy ignored the sinking feeling in his chest and removing all his clothes but his boxers. tossing them into the laundry basket by the side of his dresser near the foot of his bed, he climbed into bed tossing and turning before he slowly surrendered to the dreams he cherished in his mind.

Starfire sat on the edge of her bed, giving the mattress a light punch for she was very much aware of her true strength, her head bowed as she refused to allow moisture to run down her cheeks, she would not cry simply because her emotions were in turmoil and she did not understand why, she was a princess, a warrior...a Titan.

Glancing over to where her giant pet larva moth, Silkie was sleeping soundly on the floor in the small hand woven tan colored cloth bed Raven had made him after they returned she took a deep breath, stood from her bed, turned around and got on her knees, her hands clasped together in a prayer, her eyes closed in respect.

She had not prayed to X'Hal since she was a little girl, wishing that the Gordanians that invaded her planet and sent her brother away would disappeared from existence, she hoped that Ryand'r or Wildfire as the English translation of his name was safe from harm, wherever he was.

Not the first time she felt alone, lost, scared and now to add an even more irritating emotion to the list she was confused but she did not know why and a small part of her felt as though the goddess, X'Hal has abandoned her making her wonder why she even bothered praying.

Even still, Starfire did not know where to turn so it felt in a small way necessary to ask for the aid of divine intervention.

"I am sorry, Lady X'Hal for not giving you the praise and glory that you deserve. I as your servant have forsaken you, though you have done much for me and the planet that exalts your name." She paused, her lips trembling and her naturally joyful attitude shifted as she released all her burden from her heart onto the goddess, anger and accusation lacing her words as she continued.

"My parents are gone, my brother missing, my sister disowned by your planet and your own servant who now prays to you and now...my heart seems torn between two Earthlings. Do...do you even care, my lady? Am I wasting my breath? My time and your own? Is anyone even looking out for me anymore?" Koriand'r bitterly whispered to herself, opening her eyes she looks at the far away dots of light in space beyond Earth's atmosphere and sighs loudly.

Laying her head on the blanket covering her bed she breathes deeply, tears staining the fabric, the flood gates opened the moment she closed her eyes.

"Does anyone even care?" Starfire mutters to herself before slowly standing, feeling the stiff muscles in her knees she shook her legs out one by one, opened the covers and climbed into the snug, embracing cocoon resting her head on the pillow and drifted off into a world she could form all on her own.


	2. Bird or Beast?

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long this just came to me last night so I had to make sure everything was properly correct. The story gets much more thicker, I'll try to update again soon but it'd be nice to see reviews from those who favorite or followed this story please, I doubt anyone has read a Robin/Starfire/Beast Boy love triangle so I'll do everything I can to keep this going. Anyway...enjoy **

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><p>The dreams Starfire had were known to change drastically, first it would be of a time when she was young and life was simple, despite the war tearing across the world from her people's hated foes.<p>

Then it would turn into a game she and her brother, Ryand'r used to play until he suddenly disappeared in a harsh, white flash that stung her eyes and made her scream for him to come back to her, with Wildfire never being heard of again.

After which she would be flung into the current life she had now, the Teen Titans, the Honorary Titans, the war with the Brotherhood Of Evil, the kiss with Robin, seeing his eyes for the very first time, the ecstasy she felt for her leader, her hatred of Komand'r, the loss of her parents, her pride in Galfore being the Grand Ruler of Tamaran and finally the pain and shame of feeling as though she had abandoned her people to try to live a relatively normal life.

It was never in the same order though and it always ended the exact same way; That she was a selfish and arrogant girl who had been thrown into slavery in exchange for her people's safety.

If she was being honest with herself and if she was given a choice she would have done it again for no matter the horrors, pain, humiliation and attempts of rape or death she had been through she would not allow the blood of her entire planet to be on her hands, they didn't deserve that, especially the children.

Oddly enough the mental images were not plagued with her kneeling on barren soil, clenching the body of a little Tamaranean girl, her eyes empty and sad, blood dripping down her fingers and the eerie voice of the child whispering that their ruler had forsaken them.

Surrounded by shadows of the dead clamoring for her head and a real leader while a tall, blue skinned woman wearing an ivory colored, golden trimmed dress that pooled the floor and showed nothing but her golden eyes was shaking her head and telling the alien princess that the gods did not bless the fallen.

For once Starfire was not alone in her suffering with ghost surrounding her, her world had not lost the war, she was not holding the corpse of one of her people and even the goddess X'hal was silenced, instead she was as always knelt on the ground, tears were dry from her face, her hands were empty and most importantly she was not being shunned by her people and her deity which would normally force her to wake up, screaming and thrashing in a fit and almost hurting poor Silkie who did nothing to earn his master's accidental rage.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, a playful and rather irritating smirk evident on the owner's face, his skin glistening with what she hoped was water from his chest, muscles shown without effort from his toned and sculpted body and a mischievous glint in his eyes as the young man beside her was knelt on his knees, leaning his body over and putting his mouth near her left ear.

_"Don't worry, Star. I won't let them break you, we're in this together."_ He whispered the honest and heart warming passion in his words to aid her sent a jolt up her spine and she gasp, right before she woke up.

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><p>Starfire's eyelids parted and she groaned, stretching her body out and hearing as well as feeling her jolts cracking or popping, smacking her lips to allow her a momentary sigh of relief making her yawn loudly, her long purple tongue rolling out of her mouth for an instant before she closed her mouth.<p>

_"What was that? I can't remember what color the boy's skin was...was it Robin? Or Beast Boy making such a promise to me?"_ She questioned to herself, her hands curling into fist gripping her blanket as she breathed trying her hardest to remember just who it was, she could have sworn it was Robin, the changeling never had such defined muscles that she could see until last night.

And yet the way he smiled at her reminded her to much of the green skinned boy, she didn't even have a chance to look at the ears to be absolutely sure, more importantly why did her heart skip a little beat at the thought?

And why were either of the men, no matter who it was in her nightmares that would usually finish her dreams and forced her to think of happier thoughts so she never revealed the darkness in her soul to the others?

Why now after all this time did they appear, it could have been Robin, Beast Boy or X'hal even Hot Spot but it did not answer the simple question of why now, when she had been forced to be haunted by her demons and ghost alone?

When she swore that Nega Starfire was whispering somewhere among the crowd that wanted her killed, though she was never able to find her and her own goddess to turn her gaze from her...where had that man, whoever he was been when she needed him the most?

It made her angry, her eyes glowed briefly at the thought and she slowly calmed down, it was a nightmare, a naturally recurring nightmare but it was one she could do nothing about at the moment, they had trumpeted, they had won and she was finally victorious, or rather they were.

With a loud sigh Starfire got out of bed, her morning attire consisted of a pink fluffy pajama shirt, with matching bottoms dotted with multi colored rabbits, she was barefoot as always and Silkie was deep asleep at the end of her bed allowing her to give an sincere smile towards her pet.

Scratching the back of her head from an itch, she opened her door which slid open with a hiss and walked towards the Ops Room, hungry from the long night that toyed with her as always thankful that Robin had allowed the team to wear civilian clothing to at least try to appear normal with the other humans, it was an option that he had given to all the Titans, Honorary or living in a constructed T, unless they were forced into battle which was quite rare after they had come back from Tokyo, at last for Titans West .

At least now Robin wouldn't look like a human traffic light all the time, the thought caused her to giggle as she walked down the corridor and the door to the Ops Room opened upon her arrival.

For once Beast Boy and Cyborg were not arguing over meat and tofu, Raven was absent and Robin was scrolling through the channels of the television, for a second the sight of how lonely the area seemed without Terra's loud but cheerful laughter due to a joke or her angry and annoyed voice when she and the other Titans fought over what to watch that echoed through the confinement squeezed Starfire's heart and she stopped walking.

Refusing to allow any more tears to spill, she focused on her vow that she would do what she could to find the missing statue, she had no idea if the girl Beast Boy saw at the high school was really her missing friend and felt terrible for disbelieving him every time he tried to convince them but she knew that perhaps one day, the earth meta human would return and she would be embraced with open arms, if Raven could stomach the contact that is.

A smile lit her entire demeanor at the thought of her friend one day being home again giving the Tamaranean the strength to hover into the air and settle next to Beast Boy, the hero in question currently eating a bowl of chocolate cereal with skim milk, his attitude calm and relaxed, enjoying his food and wearing a black Rolling Stones t-shirt with dark blue jeans, white socks and green Nike's, his hair a mess which caused an even bigger smile on her lips and he smelt like deodorant which he must have exchanged for a shower.

Leaning over towards him she spoke a simple greeting, his only response being a nod with his mouth full but at least he looked her in the eye when she spoke as she turned to Cyborg who was busy on his communicator arguing with Jinx and cooking bacon, eggs and sausage on the stove in front of him, he only gave her a hasty greeting then returned to the tasks at hand, his voice being drowned out as Robin turned the volume up over the yelling.

Jinx and Kid Flash did not last as long as anyone expected, Wally was to much of a flirt and the girl simply did not have the patience to deal with a boy who could not keep his eyes focus on one woman, though he tried to show genuine interest in her like he had in the past, the breakup was not a disaster enough for the two of them to quit the Titans but it was still a sore subject if it was ever brought up, even on accident.

Cyborg was there to comfort both of them, but his feelings for Jinx resurfaced and the two found themselves wanting to be together romantically like in the days before when he was Stone, though this time they were doing what they could to be honest with each other and taking it slow, they had yet to even go on an official date which if any of the occupants in the room listened in on the conversation, they could hear the two arguing about loudly.

"Jinx for the last time, the carnival closed down a week ago, it won't appear for another six months. We can't go….no...I get it ok, you don't like seafood but I'm trying to tell you about this new restaurant that has more than just sea...hello? Hello? Damn it girl!" He growled at the now blank screen in his hand, turning his anger to the slowly cooking food before him.

"Told you dude, should have just took her to go miniature golfing but nooo...you wanted to go to a restaurant, how boring could you be Cy?" Beast Boy teased with a playful roll of his eyes as the large metal man before the two sighed.

"I just want everything to be perfect, I can't screw this up, BB...not like last-"

"It was a mission, she understands. Neither of you can change the past so stop crying about it and listens to what she wants to say, you have the T-ship so get out of Jump City and go somewhere you both have not been, don't get all wimpy and depressed on me now because she's giving you another shot." The sudden tedium voice of Raven interrupted making the three beside her jump at her entrance.

Beast Boy and Cyborg became over dramatic at both Raven's presence and cold but true words, gripping their chest as though they were in pain and telling the half demon not to scare them like that and that she didn't know what it was like when in truth she knew exactly what they had both gone through .

Raven's only response was to smack both of them over the head with the morning newspaper in her black telekinesis with her natural magic words and stand next to Cyborg, preparing the ingredients for her herbal tea which once brewed and she calmly and carefully swiped a plate of two strips of bacon, sausage and two over easy eggs she joined Robin on the couch, the plate and tea in her hands and utensils with a few napkins floating behind it's owner encased in onyx colored magic ignoring the second in command's very loud and angry protest.

Starfire noticed that for once Raven was not in her usual black leotard and indigo colored cloak, but a gray sweater and matching sweat pants with dark blue slippers on her feet, it was a very surprising and shocking sight, though she did have the sweater's hood pulled over her head to conceal her emotions if necessary which left a nagging feeling in the back of Starfire's mind if maybe the group was getting too relaxed over less enemies if Raven was walking around without her cloak.

There was always the matter of paying the bills, without villains to fight for the city to give them money how were they going to pay for food, electricity, water, heat, their own personal items and more importantly the tower itself...but the thought quickly diminished, it was Jump City after all, whether it was monsters, aliens, demons, meta humans or hell even regular criminals or a fire many always thought it was a brilliant idea to challenge the Titans and that ultimately lead to their downfall.

They would scrape by, all they had to do was wait for some idiot to appear so they could take him or her down and get paid like normal, heroes had to eat and pay bills to.

Beast Boy finished his food soon after, Cyborg made a plate for Starfire along with her natural bottle of mustard on the side and another plate for himself with a glass of milk to which both sat on the couch, enjoying their meal and try to decide on a movie over the large selection they rapidly got into a fight, choosing Cool Running at the end, laughing, content with their friendship, Robin slowly wrapping an arm around his girlfriend who with slight hesitation allowed herself to lean against him.

She didn't know why she paused in finding comfort with him, perhaps the attraction she had towards him after their long history was fading, maybe it was because she was becoming in closer proximity to Beast Boy...or her feelings were mixed with the unnerving dream she had woken up to, it was confusing, and her heart hurt just at the idea of Robin not being the partner she thought he was after everything.

Regardless, Starfire felt she deserved to know just what Beast Boy thought of her, was his feelings attuned to something resembling siblings? Or did he harbor romantic feelings that he had made himself repress for the sake of their friendship at the very end?

She didn't know, but she intended to find out, it was not cheating on Robin since he was the one who wanted a break, she had no idea she was so demanding, that she was draining him or suffocating him, even if she was not in reality she certainly felt guilty for not giving him space.

With the movie over, breakfast done and another boring day, they secretly hoped beginning, Robin took back his arm and went to the Gym to train without a word, he must have temporarily forgotten he requested space but Starfire didn't seem to mind.

Raven put her dirty dishes in the sink, sat down on a large blue recliner chair they all, minus Raven pitched in to get her due to a crappy sixteenth birthday and read her book of Azar which she mesmerized out of thin air with a few quiet words.

Cyborg quickly opened up his communicator to call Jinx again and set a trip for another part of the world, leaving Beast Boy and Starfire alone on the couch looking through the channels.

Nervously, Starfire questioned to herself if this was even something worth asking, if she even had any right to know if the changeling had any desire to be more than friends, or if she was merely doing thing to pique her own curiosity, what if he answered in the positive or worse the negative...what if she unknowingly gave him the option to be more, would this be considered cheating on Robin?

"Beast Boy...may we talk? Alone." Starfire questioned to the morpher a bit nervous with a quick glance to Raven who paid them no mind, Beast Boy himself raising an eyebrow in confusion and shrugged, standing up he motioned for her to do the same and strolled towards the entrance for the roof while the alien princess gawked, stunned and wondering if this was the same young man she had known for quite some time, perhaps he was maturing faster than any of them thought.

As they walked up the metal stairs in silence, she half expected him to say some corny joke or ask why she wanted to talk to him when she could talk to Raven or Robin but he did neither and simply traveled to their destination.

Opening the door and holding it for her, they walked until they were both a foot near the edge of the roof and sat, allowing the enchanting and exquisite sight of the ocean, sun and gentle colored sky above to calm their thoughts.

"So...what's up, Dudette?" He chuckled with a smile making her giggle and blush without meaning to, she had not meant to become captivated by him in just a few words and she felt annoyed with herself that she allowed herself to become at ease so quickly when she was trying to be serious.

With a long, deep breath she asked him straight out what he thought of her, no games, no tricks no hastily rushed attempt of humor or even light tone, she laid it her question bare and sincere which naturally caused him to look at her with bewilderment, if he had no feelings for her beyond companionship she would let the matter drop completely and they would never speak of it again...but she had to know or she fear she would regret it for the rest of her life.

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><p>"What do I think of you?" Beast Boy repeated, his right hand scratching the back of his neck unconsciously as he pondered her question, seeing the firm and determined look on her face which almost made his immediate reaction to give her a joking answer but the small hint of fear in her eyes deflated that action immediately, he coughed, cleared his throat and did something he rarely did with anyone since Terra or the Doom Patrol, spoke his heart.<p>

"I regret not comforting you after we fought our personal demons, not saying anything when Robin was Red X knowing how much it hurt you, not giving your food that you work hard on to resemble from your home a chance. In truth, I should have done a lot when you were lost, alone or scared. You're still new to the world, no one not even Robin or Batman knows everything there is to know in our world, we are only human. But you're not...and we shouldn't treat you as such."

"When your sister fought you again and again you took her on by your self, you're tough, Star...stronger than me. You're beautiful and you do what you can to fit in, it's not easy but then again we're not an easy group to get along with." He finished with a wink causing her to chuckle but she did not respond having a feeling he had more to say and she was right.

"I know your species if strong by genetics but you don't have to put on a brave face if you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, we're...I'm here for you, Starfire and-"

"Koriand'r." She interrupted causing him to blink in confusion as she explained.

"That is my real name, as I said before, Starfire is what you would refer to me in your language. You may call me that, if you like." She whispered soft enough that only he could hear, despite them being alone.

He grinned, then laughed and with his arms spread wide told her that her name was awesome, the simple gesture made her laugh uncontrollably until she had calmed down after a few seconds, seeing the smirk from her dreams directed her way, she swallowed and swore that her heart skipped a beat as he slowly became serious again.

"Call me Garfield, my real full name is Garfield Mark Logan. But like I was saying, you ever need me you know I'll be there for you, you're my best girlfriend after all." He added with a caring smile tossed her way, he frowned once she saw her eyes lower to the cement.

"Have you ever wondered if maybe-"

"You're with Robin, Star. I couldn't do that to either of you, it wouldn't be right, you know that...it's not the type of man I am." His answer was cold, to the point and brisk as he stared towards the sea, knowing that even if she would not admit it to herself she was starting to have feelings for him, or maybe they were in her all along and neither of them acted on it like they should have due to fear and worry of rejection, a common storm of emotion but a whirlwind all the same.

"And...if I was not with Robin? If it was just us, Garfield?" He heard her whisper so quiet that even his sensitive ears had a bit of trouble picking it up, the final nail in the coffin hitting home once she spoke his real name.

Finally he looked her in the eyes, or rather, he titled his head up to look at her, forgetting about their height difference for a moment, trying his damnest to control his breathing and think seriously about her question.

His brain feeling as though it was going to bash itself against his skull until it was pus in order to understand what was it she saw in him to even make her ask him such a question.

He had no idea what to say, so he asked her to move closer to him to give her the answer or was he moving towards her? It didn't seem to matter as their faces were suddenly both inches from the other and neither of them knew it while she patiently waited.

"If it was just us? I saw the fear in your eyes when the Gordanians threatened to take you back with them, along with your anger. The pain when you went through puberty and considered yourself a monster. The shame and remorse when you had to leave your planet, and the joy you had felt after it all came to a close. If it was just us, Koriand'r...I could offer you nothing but my heart and vow to stand by your side no matter what came our way." His speech at an end and the tears in her eyes with his heartfelt confession they both inched their faces closer.

Neither knew who it was to start the slow, sensual kiss. They didn't know how it jumped from an innocent peck to something much deeper and more meaningful, more passionate and animistic, grabbing handfuls of the material on their body, running small pecks on one another's neck or jaw bone, moaning and groaning from the contact as their tongues intertwined for a second until they tore away from each other as if they had been shocked and even then they did not know who it was to pull away.

Panting so hard their chest were heaving, their bodies craving for more, their hands painfully dragging across the gravel in order to contain themselves to not jump at the one in front of them, their eyes widen to their full extent and their lips still tingling even after a full five minutes of being separated not trusting themselves to speak.

As they calmed themselves down, Beast Boy did the one thing he had been doing his entire life, he ran, ignoring the scream of the one he had spoken his heart to and acted in such an intimate and forbidden act as he yanked open the door, not even noticing the other figure trying to press tightly to the wall to not be noticed.

_**"Garfield!"**_ Starfire screeched after him, anguish crushing her to her very soul at what she had done and the betrayal she felt towards the man she truly believed she loved...or she thought she did.

He should have just thrown himself off the tower without morphing, that must have been a better mercy then stabbing one of his best friend's in the back, but instead he was running, his heart pounding so hard it hurt, he rushed out the tower and transformed into a shark so fast he doubt anyone even saw anything but a splash as he hit the freezing cold water which his shark form was accepting quickly, he had to get out of here...he had to escape or else he feared they might have skipped directly to the baby making stage, and they weren't even of the same biological chemistry.

While the young man that had literally caused her heart to stop once their lips touched disappeared into the ocean, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was left to be sprawled on the gravel, tears cascading down her face, her nails easily leaving long, bloody claws marks into the ground and her emotions blown to hell so bad she would be lucky if she had enough strength to make it to the door.

_"What is Robin going to think?"_ Was the last thought she could honestly ask herself right before her vision faded, her body shut itself down before she killed herself over the emotional wound and she lost consciousness.


	3. My Demons Want To Play A Game

**Author's Note: Originally this was going to be so much longer, maybe up to ten thousand words but I chose to end it at the point I did because I did not want to overwhelm the readers and I seriously need to get started on the next chapter of By The Grace Of X'hal, I won't abandon that story like I did Armageddon. Hope you're ready, shit is getting serious in this one...that's not a joke.**

* * *

><p>Raven burst through the door leading to the roof, attempting on meditating when she arrived, in truth she couldn't believe what she just witnessed, her emoticlones shouting in her mind in a frenzy that she could have stopped them, maybe could have done something to understand if only for a little while why the two Titans had kissed each other, she needed answers yet knew it would have to wait, Starfire needed help.<p>

"Raven to Robin, Starfire's unconscious on the roof, bring Cyborg with you, _now_." She empathized the very last word in her communicator, tossing it to the ground as she grabbed the Tamaranean teenager by the shoulders, turning her around roughly to make sure she was still breathing by pressing her fingers to the girl's neck and sighing in relief once she felt a pulse.

Not even a few seconds later, Robin and Cyborg stomped through the concrete, Robin sliding on his knees and taking his girlfriend from Raven's arms.

"What the hell happened?" He shouted, looking deep into the empath's eyes, his teeth gritted together hard enough to cause his jaw to hurt as she opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out.

What could she say? What should she say? Was it even any of her business at all to try to intervene in the lives of her friends?

It didn't matter, the young man hoisted his woman up bridal style, ignoring his friend's stuttered replies and carried her quickly down the stairs while Cyborg surveyed the damage done to the roof noticing the long, bloody claw marks tearing through the hardened clay as if it was butter.

He inhaled a breath sharply as his human eye narrowed and tried to call Beast Boy on his own communicator to no avail, just what in God's name did Starfire do to herself?

Not even bothering to see how Raven was faring, he turned around and rushed to the Med Bay, they needed to stabilize their friend and after she was awake, they needed to know exactly what went down.

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><p>Starfire awoke her spiritual body in the very same spot that her nightmares always started at, on her home planet, in the dry muck where she was always accused of being a traitor, a monster, a false ruler and the very bane of X'hal and the world itself.<p>

Through the emotional anguish that had struck her body down she even now was in pain, her mental form in torment from Beast Boy's rejection because of how much her species relied on emotions to fuel their abilities Starfire was so heart broken her physical body rebelled and shut down, she'd be lucky if she was not already dying, Tamaranean's could survive many obstacles but being turned down cold from the one they felt affection for caused their strength to vanish instantly and could be fatal if they did not receive medical help immediately.

Gasping as she clenched her heart through her shirt, her eyes shut tight, her teeth grinding together and her breathing quick and excruciatingly painful even to her own ears she cracked open her eyes little by little until the pain subsided slowly and she could take long, deep breaths of oxygen in relief, if only for a moment.

Glancing around she saw nothing but dirt around her, no trees, buildings or people in sight. The planet's sun being shrouded by large, thick gray clouds and casting a very eerie environment around her, giving the tint of forbidding in the air.

She opened her mouth to call out to anyone in the vicinity but closed it seeing a silhouette in her peripheral vision and turned to the shape, her eyes widen in awe when she saw the form of Lady X'hal, the goddess did not even acknowledge Starfire, her golden eyes staring at something beyond the alien's vision, nothing of her body shown but her eyes before she nodded making Starfire turn towards the source.

As soon as her head turned to identify whatever it was that caught X'hal's attention a gray fist smashed into her skull and sent her entire body to the earth, leaving the young heir coughing and groaning in agony in the dirt as she lifted her head and saw...herself.

A scowl instantly formed on her face before she reached an arm out and tried to lift herself from the floor as a leg shot out from her foe directly into her stomach causing the alien to wheeze despair and hurl the breakfast she had eaten onto the ground in front of her as she dropped in her own bile.

Her hair was hasty snatched up by an angry fist and yanked painfully with strength only one of her people could muster, her body held up until she was brought to her knees to look at her enemy, her own vomit slowly sliding off her clothes as both of them ignored the smell.

"Nega Starfire." The Titan spat with as much hatred as she could summon from her vocal cords glaring at the gray skinned, crimson eyed demon in front of her whose entire body, even her clothes shined no color unlike her counterpart, void of anything resembling similarities other than appearance and Starfire's own voice.

"Aw, how sweet of you to remember my name." The demon sneered, her tone mocking before she pulled back her fist and punched Starfire in the face again making the alien spit magenta colored blood into the ground below, a thin line dripping down her chin.

Nega Starfire lifted a foot off the ground and thrusted it directly into Starfire's stomach, letting go of her hair at the exact same time gravity flung her away from her personal demon.

She was kicked a foot from where she knelt at, holding her injury and wincing at the white hot flash of pain that followed the action as the one that taunted her in her dreams strolled forward in a slow pace.

"Why are you here?" Starfire questioned, rolling over and pushing herself off the ground, her vision blurry from the attack forcing her to sway, trying to get her bearings and turn around right before being socked in the face again causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor on her knees for a second time.

"Isn't it obvious, mortal? Besides finally having you all to myself and beating you into a pulp, your real body is in a coma, you already know why and if I'm able to crush you here in your own mind your brain will shut down, leaving you no more than a vegetable. You'll die, Koriand'r and the best part is, no one will know until it's too late." The incubus whispered into her ear when she reached her, Starfire's eyes widening in fear and shock before her demon backhanded her across the face.

Reeling from the blow, she reached out a hand to steady herself, panting as she attempted to stay awake, she wouldn't allow herself to fall victim to such a fate, not without a fight but she needed to recover her energy which make her open her mouth and talk, not looking the monster in the eyes.

"I saw you return to my body, Trigon is defeated you should not be here, we have-" Her voice was instantly cut off by a hand wrapping around her throat and again heaved into the air, staring her sins directly in the face as Nega Starfire scowled, her bright red eyes narrowed to mere slits as she jerked Starfire in her grip with a force that Cinderblock would envy.

"And you think that makes your sins go away? We fought in his realm when he summoned me from _your_ soul. We are in your _mind_, I am your _demon_ and you are weaker than that stupid boy toy who has no powers. Robin was the focus of your heart when we last met but now it appears you have another, that disgusting changeling who dared to touch me with his filthy animal form. You make me sick." She growled, her left hand suddenly engulfed by bright red energy as she swung the projectile into Starfire's chest.

It melted her flesh, making her scream in pain as she inhaled her own burning flesh and slightly burning fabric, being thankful if such deserved a word that her clothes were immune to starbolts, as she crashed harshly into the ground.

Now she was in even more pain than when the demon first began her assault, who had released her to wallow in the dirt, tears were sliding down Starfire's face who could do nothing but gasp and moan trying to roll over again to face her opponent.

The second her torso touched the dirt she cry out in pain right before the evil clone kicked her in the face sending her flying a foot off the ground and slamming hard into the rubble.

She would not go down like this, defeated and left to the mercy of her own demon who was merely toying with her, gritting her teeth and gasping from the multiple inflicted wounds she shakily rose up, it was torture to even breathe but after what felt like an eternity she stood and faced her rival, who did nothing but place a hand on her hip, her lips in a sneer.

"I have fought you before and I will do so again if it means escaping my own mind." Starfire shouted in rage, her hands and eyes glowing bright green for a second before she took a step forward and dropped to the dirt like a stone, once more on her knees, her strength being depleted almost instantaneous the second she tried to move.

Nega Starfire merely clicked her tongue with a shake of her head, floating into the air and landing in front of her making the alien flinch then cursed herself at her fear.

The demon bent down, her head near the Tamanaranean's right ear and spoke in such a low voice the Titan could barely hear it.

"You don't get it do you? It's not just your body losing the will to live, it's you as well. The only way to be free is to chose who holds your heart and that may just give you the strength and courage to stand before us, this isn't a _**fucking**_ game." The dark form growled as she stood, looking at the hero with a sadistic smile seeing her confused expression.

Starfire winced at the curse word uttered from her demon's lips, she was not completely innocent as many portrayed her from her time on Earth but she never used such a vile word before herself, though she shoved it away as she glanced into Nega Starfire's eyes.

"Us?" She asked softly and was rewarded with a harsh blow to the back of her head, her mental body had no time to register the pain as that instant, Nega Starfire uppercutted her in the jaw snapping her head back with a blow that would have killed her if she was in the physical world .

A hard kick was aimed into her ribs with enough force to turn over a car as she willed herself to heal though it did not respond as her felt two of ribs snap from the attack, she was glad they did not puncture any vital organs but she could see it had ripped through her skin as she howled in distress, one arm held firmly into the earth, gripping a handful of the soil like it was her lifeline.

Even with the natural strength she possessed it did little against the one in her line of vision, she spat out another glob of blood into the dirt glaring at the demon with long, swallow breathes who was laughing in glee.

"Having too much fun without me, are you demon?" A voice jabbed at the monster which sent a shiver of both anxiety and anger coursing through her veins.

"Blackfire." Starfire hissed through her teeth, as though it was the greatest insult she could think of.

The older woman in question calmly came into Starfire's sight with a grin then kicked the arm holding her sister up, making her fall face first into the ground, ignoring the stinging pain on her chin which was slowly bleeding from a small cut as she propped herself up again, heaving as her eyes glowed green with rage.

"You're not real." Starfire yelled from her position making the former Grand Ruler scoff with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh course not, you stupid girl. Have you already forgotten where we are, or has the emotional toll of losing that putrid green boy dulled your senses. What have you done to her, Nega?" Blackfire giggled, it was meant to be cute coming from her mouth as she held a hand up to cover the sound but her eyes held an insane and twisted glint in them as she looked to Starfire's doppelganger.

"What I felt was necessary." Was the only answer Blackfire was given making her roll her eyes again with a huff.

"Well don't kill her...just yet. We can't beat her within an inch of her life without having a little fun first, now can we?" The raven haired alien asked folding her arms with a glance to the demon who could only snort with a shake of her head in response not even looking at the older sibling.

"Sister Dear, as much fun as it is to smash you into the ground over and over again we have just one simple question for you...who do you love?" The exiled woman asked slowly, her eyes glaring at Starfire, sharp as a razor but she still held that sickling smile like she owned the world, which only made the Titan want to spew what she had remaining in her one of her nine stomachs on Blackfire's boots.

"Why ask me the question when you know I don't have the answer." She replied making Nega Starfire take a step forward, her hands encased with her flaming colored starbolts before Blackfire held out her arm, halting her from advancing.

"Koriand'r, this is me you're speaking to, now I know-"

"I swore to you in person, Komand'r I wanted nothing to do with you for what you did to Wildfire and Tamaran, you want your answer?...Burn in Tartarus, bitch." Starfire snarled, it was so out of character for her that it was almost comical to see the surprised look on both the villain's faces but she kept herself in check at the last second.

Blackfire grimaced, her hands and eyes mirroring Nega Starfire's own with her signature purple colored blackbolts, her chest heaving with an effort not to throttle the younger girl in front of her as she forced herself to calm down and gripped the demon's arm when she tried to fly past her to disintegrate her into ashes.

"Calm yourself, demon. We can try a different route to fully crack open her heart to us, once she does, you can have the honor of shattering her mind and dragging her to Tartarus yourself." She hissed into her partner's ear who only snarled, yanking her arm away and dispelling the starbolts in her hands, Blackfire's own blackbolts were gone before she touched the monster.

"I do not take orders from you, ghost. I will see this Troq vanquished before her friends manage to wake her, we do not have long. I can sense it so whatever your game is...hurry." Nega Starfire spat making Blackfire smirk.

"It won't be long...follow my lead." With a nod at the Titan who was now wheezing for breath in attempt to stay alive from the wound on her hip, Blackfire saunter over to her injured sister, grabbing her chin firmly as she bashed her forehead hard into Starfire's nose whose head jerked backwards in pain, her eyes shut tight trying to keep anymore tears from falling.

The second Starfire's eyes were closed, Blackfire teleported behind her sister and morphed herself into Robin, Nega Starfire transforming herself into Beast Boy and vanishing in a cloud of smoke to Starfire's left side.

The young redhead, held a hand to her nose feeling blood run down as she groaned and slowly opened her eyes despite the pain in her head, giving an audible sigh of relief and thanked X'hal that the two were finally gone, perhaps now she could control her own mind and awake to the world she knew at last.

Concentrating hard with her eyes closed, she opened them to find herself still in the gods forsaken land and still spiritually injured as she gasped at the sudden warm feeling of a hand on her right shoulder.

"Starfire, thank God I found you, Raven sent us on a damn goose chase trying to find a way to wake you up, and I ran into a lot of hurdles to get here, we don't have a lot of time. You're dying Star and-"

Starfire could only sit frozen in astonishment, not even hearing the rest of Robin's words as she turned her head and saw that it was truly him and his worried voice was really his own, she didn't know how or why but she flung herself into his arms, not even noticing the dark smirk he gave as she cried in relief.

"Oh Robin, it was awful. Two of my worse fears came for me. I couldn't do anything to defend myself, I tried and I had forgotten just how strong my sister actually was, thank X'hal you're here to get me away from this nightmare." She wept openly into his chest, keeping the actual truth from him until she was ready to tell him as he held her tight and stroked her back in reassurance, whispering sweet nothings before slowly nodding to Starfire's demonic form who could only give a sinister grin with Beast Boy's face.

"It's alright. They're gone, Star. We won't let them hurt you anymore, listen we have to hurry, Raven says-"

"Koriand'r." The word uttered out of Beast Boy's lips caused the alien to freeze in bewilderment, no one of the Titans knew her by that name but him.

"Garfield." She gasped in shock, turning around in surprise with Robin's help to look at the changeling who was panting with his hands on his knees, a few drops of sweat on his forehead, he asked for a moment to catch his breath before looking into her eyes.

"Sorry the rest of the gang couldn't join us, Raven is stuck in a pose that makes her look like a freaking statute and Cyborg's checking over your body to make sure you don't die on us. So Rae send us. Got to admit, pretty freaky places in your head you got going on." He laughed, she in turn smiled while Robin snorted.

"Yeah right, Beast Boy you were too busy checking out Star's dream house to notice. Funny how you have a nursery in one bedroom though, Starfire were you expecting...wait a minute, did he just call you Koriand'r?" Robin's asked, his voice cold as he turned his masked eyes to look into her own which made her shiver from his words.

"Robin, I...I can explain-"

"You never even told me your real name-"

"You never asked and Galfore said my real name the day of my wedding when I was to marry-"

"I was there, Starfire. I just forgotten what he said, I'm so used to calling you by the name you told us when we met...why Beast Boy of all people? Why not me? I could have told you my real name if you had asked me. I showed you my eyes, didn't I?" He retorted angrily as she put a hand on his chest hoping he would understand.

"Robin please, it's not like that. I care for you both truly you are my friends and-"

"Oh really, Star? Then why did you kiss me?" Beast Boy spoke, his hands curled into fist at his side, his eyes brimming with tears before Robin looked at her in shock, stepping back causing her to fall to the ground on her knees.

"You kissed _**him**_?!" Robin shouted furious at the woman whom he had finally admitted his feelings to after so long, Starfire looked back and forth between the two, terror on her face, tears running down her face as she wanted so badly to admit that her feelings for the green skinned boy were new and she didn't know what it was that made her kiss him, in truth she didn't know if she was even the one to start the kiss or who ended it.

Pleading for Robin to listen to her she didn't notice Beast Boy's dark chuckle behind her as Robin crossed his arms over his chest, glaring with a cruel demeanor and firm stance.

"I thought you loved me, Starfire." His tone made it clear he was heart broken, anger lacing his words as he turned to the boy beside her.

"You stole her from me!" He screamed, about to run up and punch Beast Boy in the face before the orange alien stopped him with her strength, trying to make him see her side of the full picture.

Nega Starfire wondering in the back of her mind exactly what Blackfire was planning, this charade could be over and done with now, the girl was obviously crushed, the demon wanted to speak but instead held her tongue, she would wait, baiting her time until they could strike.

The two villains used the memories of Starfire's adventures to conjure up their words, silently both were thankful she had spent so much time with her friends or their plan would be ruined.

"You're treating her like a prize to be won, dude in case you forgotten she's a princess, not a slave-"

"I never treated her like that at all-"

"You think just because you kissed her once and held her hand you'll get a happy ending. News flash Bird Boy life's not a _**fucking**_ fairy tale. You can't just have anyone you want because you're able to dance around her feelings then admit them after a big battle!" Beast Boy shouted back, Blackfire was surprised at how in character the evil spirit was getting, this was turning out to be a lot more fun than she thought.

Now they had to up the ante if they wanted to tear Starfire's heart in two as the alien in question gasped at Beast Boy's sudden nasty language.

"I stopped her from a wedding with a blob she didn't even know. I got a dance with her after we stopped Kitten and Fang, not you, Green Bean. Me! And I traveled-"

"I was there! Maybe not for the dance but I was there for almost everything else, and you know what I see?! You treat her like a damsel in distress-"

"That's not true-"

"Yes it is, Robin! She can take care of herself, you treat her like an idiot when teaching her new things about _our_ world. What do you even actually know about her? When's the last time you sat down and talked with her about what she liked besides her favorite beverage or that wasn't about a mission. You don't bother to get to know her, hell you never even knew her real name until now!" He roared back, a sudden urge to turn into a bear came to mind but at the last second held back, breathless from his small speech as Blackfire gasped in Robin's voice.

Damn, this was going better than she could have imagined, unfortunately as much as they could change into the male's form and vocal tones they could not use their powers or skills, they were part of Starfire's thoughts after all and she had to keep herself from summoning a blackbolt as she knew the demon was doing the same.

Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was being held up by her arms, long streaks of tears running down her face at the sound of the two fighting.

She wanted to speak but they interrupted her every time and it was tearing her apart and though she could not admit it out loud, she knew Beast Boy was right, Robin was always preoccupied with training, missions or doing something he wanted to do, anything she wanted was always given pause or politely declined unless she offered a kiss or something akin to romance.

How much did Robin and her have in common anyway? How many times has he attempted to save her knowing that she was stronger than he could even dream of being? It made her angry, as her eyes glowed green and she held herself back from forming starbolts in her hands as she wept.

"That's bullshit, she's just a rebound because _**you**_ gave up on Terra and Raven-"

"Don't you speak her name! You didn't even bother to give her a chance until I said something about you working with Slade! And Raven is like a sister to me, I merely joked with her, I never loved her romantically-"

"So you steal _**my**_ girl right from under my nose?! If it wasn't for me, you would-"

"Stop dancing around the goddamn issue again, let Starfire chose for herself, who do you love Star, Boy Wonder over here or me?" Beast Boy shouted as she looked him in the eyes, his own pleading for her to give him a chance to show her what she was missing.

"Like she would ever like a boy, she needs a real man and that's me. You love me Starfire, don't you?!" Robin yelled back as she turned to look at his mask before he tore it off, tearing into his skin slightly which dotted his face with blood to have her look at his eyes, Blackfire not even noticing the pain in the heat of the moment.

"She loves me, Batman's pawn-"

"I think she'd rather die then chose a guy who could pass for the lawn, she loves me-"

"Who do you love, Starfire?-"

"Tell us, Star, right now-"

_**"Who do you fucking love?!"**_ They bellowed in unison as Starfire couldn't take the pressure anymore and finally succumbed to the crushing guilt tearing into her very soul.

_**"Enough!"**_ Starfire shrieked alighting both her hands with her familiar green energy, lifting her arms off the ground, as both Blackfire and Nega Starfire smirked at breaking the heiress to the Tamaranean throne at last, right before she slammed her fists into the earth.

The shock wave that followed was powerful enough to level a small town, debris was thrown everywhere and the two 'men' were flung extremely hard into the ground, if it had really been Robin and Beast Boy they would have died, no human could have survived such a blast in close proximity, but Starfire didn't know that and she had not meant to use every ounce of her strength to cense the fighting, she just wanted it all to end.

As the smoke cleared at last while Koriand'r was heaving onto the dirt, inside of a crater large enough for plane to fit she questioned if the two were alright, surely Beast Boy had changed into something that could escape the blast, and Robin was...well, an extraordinarily human, he could and had lived through much worse, she was sure of it...she prayed.

Instead she saw the two teenagers stand with a wolfish grin on their faces at the very corner of the crater, side by side when she could have sworn they were able to kill each other as they vanished right before her eyes and re appeared right in front of her, they bodies changing to match the very foes she had thought she had gotten rid of for good.

Her anger overwhelmed her at the single most dirty stunt she had ever thought pulled right before her eyes and she angrily threw a starbolt with the very last of her energy at Nega Starfire who batted it away with the back of her hand like it was a rubber ball, the starbolt was so weak it didn't even sizzle at it hit the ground.

"Please, no more...I can take it no more." Starfire cried as she had been broken down completely, no longer did she struggle, fight or try to flee.

It was over.

"At last the mighty have fallen, hey Blackfire?" Starfire's demon sneered looking towards the hero's older sister who flicked a pebble that was lodged in her shoulder away, they were of equal or greater strength to the young Titan, even after pouring all that she had to defeat them or stop the quarrel of her friends when she had thought they were her friends, she had lost at the very end.

"Pathetic, it was a rather unexpected twist in my plan, a minor setback but she can oppose us no longer, I had my fun, she is called the alien powerhouse for a reason though. As promised, you may finish her, I'm sure my real version will see her in Tartarus soon enough." Backfire answered with an indifferent shrug as Nega Starfire alit her hands in red energy and very slowly walked towards the one she was created to kill, if not in body then in her mind.

"I would say I'm very sorry for this...but I don't have a heart to care about your suffering, little Star." The demon teased with a emotionless expression, reaching the young woman's mental form.

"Please Lady X'hal save me from this-"

"X'hal's not here, girl...would you like me to take a message?" Nega Starfire whispered into her ear making Starfire sob as the monster stood up straight, then spreaded her legs slightly, lifted her right hand to deliver the final blow and end this truly pitiful display of alien strength in front of her.

"Azarath Metrion _**Zinthos!**_" An enormous scream reverberated throughout the entire wasteland as a massive wraith shaped raven eclipsed the very clouds above, Blackfire screeching in agony and disappearing like smoke as the bird like shadow raked it's talons against her flesh.

Starfire's demon didn't even flinch, she simply knelt down, her mouth near her ear and whispered in such a dark tone it sent shivers down the mortal's spine.

"It appears our little game is over, child...for now." Without waiting for a reply, Nega Starfire faded from sight, wisps of gray smoke trailing from her departure.

"Starfire. Thank Azarath I finally found you, we have to go, _now!_ Your body is shutting down with your mind breaking, I don't know how long I can keep it from shattering." Raven shouted as she walked towards her, the giant raven above circling intensely for any more enemies.

The alien princess herself didn't even acknowledge her friend, the barriers of her mind cracking like glass around them, Raven was desperate.

"Starfire, we have to go, right _**now!**_" The empath yelled as she grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly as the young heiress finally snapped out of her depression.

"No, no...I won't fall for your tricks again, you won't beat me again!" The alien barked swinging her left fist with everything she had at the girl but Raven merely blocked it, she was scared and could sense how far her friend had fallen.

"Starfire-"

"Get the_** fuck**_ away from me!" Starfire roared, it was such a shock that Raven took a step back as more of the area around them cracked and broke, Raven knew Starfire had swore before but she had never used such a repulsive word in her vocabulary and it appeared the alien didn't even notice or else she would be horrified with herself.

Starfire's eyes were glowing bright green but even then she had no strength to summon her starbolts and end the apparition before her, Raven had had enough.

She walked close to her friend and smacked her harshly across the face, Starfire could only utter a deep growl, curling her fist and ready for a final stand though she feared she would lose.

_**"Listen to me! It's me, Raven. It's really me, Starfire. We have to get out of here or your brain will shut down and you will die!"**_ The dark sorceress bellowed as she held the Tamaranean's shoulders, digging her nails into her flesh, her eyes widen with terror doing all she could to get her point across.

"How do I know it's-"

"I saw you kiss Beast Boy...you're in love with him...aren't you?" The half demon asked apprehensively, looking deep into her emerald colored eyes which widen, knowing somehow that this truly was Raven before her.

"...Yes." Starfire answered, immediately the mental world halted it's process, shifting and reforming the large pieces of the mind that was broken down. Raven and Starfire both looked around, worried about what was happening before them.

"So it is the changling you chose, Koriand'r?" A smooth, feminine voice spoke behind them as they looked and saw X'hal before them, not a single scratch or flick of dirt on her, still covered by the dress and only showing her eyes which shone like gold.

Starfire did not hesitate to bow before the goddess on her knees, her hands intertwined together tightly, her eyes closed.

"I….I suppose so...why didn't you help me, my lady?" She asked, a hint of anger in her tone while Raven merely crossed her arms looking over the immortal.

"I sensed your power, you're stronger then my father...you're a god?" Raven spoke in disbelief as X'hal only tilted her head, observing Raven closely and blinked, looking towards her servant before her again.

"I am...if you wish to call me such, half demon. I have met Trigon before, he is like a child screaming for a toy he cannot have, it is sad. As for your question, Koriand'r...it is not my place to intervene, I am here to just witness if the royal bloodline would lose a third member. It is fortunate you came when you did half demon." The woman answered slowly as she turned her eyes to the clouds above.

Raven bristled in anger, she already hated what she was but to be mocked by an immortal was just insulting, Rage reared his head up quickly in her mind but she forced him back down, knowing if she fought X'hal she would be killed, truthful words were not worth dying over.

"But I was-"

"And regardless of what transpired you have won, your heart and mind is free from the chains that imprisoned it and you have at least made your choice...but no one can ever be free of their sins, my child...not even a god." X'hal spoke in a wistful as if a dark memory had resurfaced in her mind but her eyes betrayed no emotion.

"It appears my time has come to watch over others of your species, Koriand'r. Tread carefully when you walk in this life you shall have many trials and tribulations to come as you grow." Without another word X'hal vanished in a flash of white light so blinding the two women had to shield their eyes.

"Shit...warn someone next time will you?" Raven muttered under her breath and helped Starfire stand who hugged her tight.

"I am-"

"Don't say it, you didn't do anything wrong, Star...come on, let's go home. The others are worried sick and we still have not gotten in touch with Beast Boy." She growled annoyed and turned to summon her namesake again until Starfire stopped her.

"It...does not bother you I am-"

"No...it doesn't. It may hurt Robin and he'll feel like taking his anger out on Beast Boy who I know will understand his rage but you made your decision and as long as you are honest and explain the reasons why...he'll eventually forgive you both." She answered, a small smile gracing her lips, lifting her arms to came forth the raven that brought her here before her friend stopped her again.

"Do you love Robin?" The question was innocent but caught the empath so off guard she almost tripped but caught herself at the last second, allowing no emotion to show on her face as she looked the alien in the eyes before looking away.

"Truth?"

"Truth...please, Friend Raven." Starfire nodded slowly as Raven took a deep breath and exhaled out her nose.

"I...I care about him deeply after he helped me defeat my father. I...I wanted to do something but…-"

"I understand, Raven. Will you comfort him when I tell him the news?" Starfire cut her off and spoke quietly, a serious expression on her face as her friend gave a ghost of a smile and slowly nodded.

"You have my word. Now let's get out of here." She replied making Starfire grin as she took her hand, a gigantic raven quickly enveloped the two of them as they shot towards the sky never noticing the figure that had her arms folded across her chest, a dangerous smirk on her face and her crimson eyes narrowed to slits, glowing with asperity.

"Look like the fun's not over after all even if she made her choice, good. I want to play a game."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Told it was seriously dark, you have no idea how much fun I had writing Nega Starfire and Blackfire, so many people forget about them but I made sure not to. Even with Trigon gone I very much doubt that the Nega Titans could just vanish forever, in truth they were to appear in Armageddon but since I'm not writing that any more...you get the idea, sorry. Anyway going to work on my other story so keep an eye out for the next chapter of By The Grace Of X'hal and of course for this story to, have a great daynight my friends.**


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